IDEA
We started to think about making a new game when we were still finishing the first one. At that time we strongly decided that indie development was our thing, because we understood that we could make ANY game we wanted. But as always, bringing a game to its release - is quite a challenge.Lead game developer: I vividly remember us trying to come up with a new game while sitting in a bar.
Unfortunately the bar wasn’t the lucky spot for us and really worthy of our time idea just wasn't coming to our minds yet.
But inspiration came a couple of months later, when I watched an animated film called ‘The Little Prince’ by Method Animation. It was based on one of my favorite books written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. At first it seemed to be just a children's story, but as you rewatch a cartoon and re-read the book you can see so much more and reflect on all the deep issues that are written between the lines. At that time I believe we had found our theme, and started building our new game idea around it.
It was decided originally that the game would be based on ‘caracter’s (player’s) imagination’, as it was in the book. So the world would come alive as the character thought or dreamed about it and gaming mechanics would get that idea across. The whole world could be a castle with knights, kings and dragons.
That was a time when the first concept arts were created and having them really helped us to move forward to work on the plot.
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PLOT
As at that time our team only consisted of me and the 3D artist, it was quite a challenge for us to come up with a satisfying plot for the game. Another challenge is that a script for a book and the script for a game are two very different things. After
BUT /surprize, surprize/ we were overwhelmed with our own ambition and finally accepted that it would take us years to implement all of these mechanics. At this point we decided to keep only the core message of the game and focus on that.
CHARACTERS
No one can tell for sure what, how and how many times had been changed. At some point secondary characters were morphs! Of course they didn’t make it to the final version of the game.
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The plot went through evolution for sure, but the main character remained the same boy we started this adventure with. At the same time the world he was placed in became darker and more dangerous.
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We wanted our main character to stand out among others so we added various details to his appearance. Toy mate finally became a teddy bear and the mysterious dark arm started to chase our characters.
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SMALL STEPS
We started to participate in various indie competitions while we were still working on the game. You can’t imagine how happy we were when we won “the best game on UE4”. After that we applied for the UE Mega Grant. Can you imagine our emotions back then? How pleasing it was to get this letter from Epic Games =)
Later Daydream: Forgotten Sorrow received the BEST UNREAL ENGINE GAME and the sponsored XSOLLA’S CHOICE awards at Indie Cup W’21. At this point we found our publisher Ravenage Games and we are happy that the world can finally enjoy a special journey that Daydream: Forgotten Sorrow is.
We hope our not so easy path will be interesting and inspiring to gamers and other developers.
Add the game to the wishlist to celebrate the release day with us!
About the game
Daydream: Forgotten Sorrow stars a boy named Griffin as he embarks on a journey to face his fears alongside his teddy bear companion Birly. As Griffin learns to confront haunting memories amidst floating castles and enchanted forests, he’ll come to discover the mystery of this newfound world.Key Features
- A touching story made for everyone
- Command an adorable teddy bear companion
- Intelligent puzzles
- A charming and mysterious universe
- Unbridled (and sometimes scary!) fantasy fun
Find Daydream: Forgotten Sorrow on social media:
► Discord
Thank you! 🧸
Changed depots in developer_test branch